West Sac passes 45-day halt on new pot clinics

West Sacramento has become the latest California city to temporarily halt the opening of medical marijuana dispensaries while officials decide how to regulate such businesses.

The city does not have any dispensaries operating within its limits, but city leaders received several inquiries over the past month about opening them.

The City Council approved a 45-day moratorium on the dispensaries in a vote late Wednesday. City planner Steve Rikala said officials would use the time to examine the public safety, zoning and legal issues surrounding medical marijuana businesses.

Dispensaries in California are not supposed to turn a profit but must function as cooperatives for members with physicians' recommendations. Some cities have permanently banned the clinics.